Vehicle manufacturers have devoted considerable effort in recent years to making their vehicle surfaces aerodynamically smooth, to cut down the wind resistance and decrease fuel consumption. Window areas of passenger vehicles are now receiving attention in this regard as window panes that are recessed from the surrounding vehicle body frame cause air turbulence in the areas where the frame bulges out from the window. In the past, most vehicle window panes, particularly those that slide up and down, have been recessed because the most convenient way to mount them is with a seal structure that either bulges out from the car body frame, or is held within a portion of the vehicle frame that bulges outwardly in relation to the window pane.
Examples of conventional molding strips that provide sealing channels for slidable window panes are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,726,894 and 3,918,206.
A recent vehicle window seal that does maintain the outer surface of the pane flush with both the seal and the adjacent vehicle frame surface is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,113, assigned to Draftex Development, A.G. This seal enables a stationary vehicle window pane to be secured to the frame with only a thin metal clip covering the outside edge of the pane. However, in order to maintain the window pane in place, a hard plastic insert must be pressed into a slot in the seal surrounding the window pane as a final step in mounting the pane. Obviously, a structure such as this would not work for a slidable pane, because it relies on a locking plastic insert that would have to be taken out and reinserted each time the window was rolled down or up.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,668 shows a sealing element having a reinforced elastomeric U-shaped member that receives a flange portion of the vehicle body and a glass-run channel which is formed of a harder elastomer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,459 similarly relates to a channel-shaped sealing strip having a metal carrier covered in an elastomeric material and including a sealing gasket of softer material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,792 relates to a window molding assembly in which a wire carrier is encapsulated in a cured material.